Preparations are underway which will soon lead me from Arlington, VA (near Washington, DC) to the Upper Midwest, New York, and finally San Marcos in the highlands of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
On Wednesday, August 5, my dad will arrive in Virginia to load and haul my remaining belongings (after a yard sale) back to Wisconsin the following day. After two weeks in Wisconsin and Minnesota with family and a week of orientation at Stony Point in New York, I will leave the country on August 31.
The five of us Guatemala Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs) will first arrive in Guatemala City and then spend five weeks in Antigua. There, we will have intensive language study and orientation to the history and culture of the region.
Finally, we’ll arrive in the cool highlands of Quetzaltenango (Xela), where I will become involved in the community life of San Marcos Episcopal Church. The church runs a lunch service to feed low-income elderly people. Beyond helping cook food, I will engage participants in conversation and activities. Other opportunities will include accompanying a doctor who receives medical delegations and trains midwives, meeting a support group of women with HIV/AIDS once a month, and possibly participating in theological training for lay people.
Quetzaltenango, often called Xela by the locals (pronounced “Shela”), will become my home for almost a year. I’ll live with a family from the church. This will fulfill a basic need of housing, the essential structure of family and community, and a doorway into the culture and local language.
This will be my home for a year, but I hope to see you when I return!
Peace, Dana
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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